Maryam Nayeb Yazdi

Editor in Chief, Persian2English.com

Maryam Nayeb Yazdi is the editor in chief of Persian2English.com, a blog which aims to expose Iran’s violations of human rights to the international audience. She is also a human rights defender based in Toronto, Canada whose main focus is on the death penalty in Iran.

The sister of Saeed Malekpour, a Canadian resident and engineer who is unlawfully imprisoned in Iran, is calling on Canadians to help push for her brother's release and safe return to Canada. Her efforts have so far moved Iran's leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to quash Malekpour's death sentence.

Today marks Zia Nabavi's 29th birthday. This is the fourth consecutive birthday the university student activist is spending in prison. He was arrested at a relative's house on June 15, 2009, following his participation in a peaceful post-election protest. He's been trapped in prison since then.

On this day in 2009 I and a few other online activists worked an intense and thrilling 16 hours to publish live updates on Persian2English about mass opposition student protests in Iran. It was National Student Day, or as the Iranians call it, 16 Azar. This year the lunar calendar caused 16 Azar to fall a day earlier, but there were no signs of opposition protests in Iran yesterday.

Nasrin Sotoudeh, an award-winning lawyer held unlawfully in Evin Prison since 2010, is on her third day of hunger strike. To show their solidarity with this incredible woman, human rights and online activists have organized a "Tweet Storm" for Friday. The online event is an urgent call to take action for her release.

Beygom Yadi Jamaloei is an Iranian 70-year-old mother who wrote an open letter four months ago pleading with the world to help prevent the illegal execution of her son, Gholamreza Khosravi.
I have personally worked on multiple execution cases and can assure you that international attention saves lives in Iran. You have the power to help. Be his voice for justice.

On Thursday over Skype, Babak, a human rights activist currently in Turkey, played me an interview he conducted with Haifa Mohammad Ali, a mother who had just discovered that Farnaz, her 10-year-old daughter, was murdered by Firouz, her husband. Haifa attempted to get help, but an intolerant translator told her story his way. By then it was too late.

Today is Bahareh Hedayat's 31st birthday and the fourth wedding anniversary with her activist husband Amin Ahmadian. Unfortunately, the two are separated because Iranian regime agents arrested her in 2009 following a mass opposition protest in the country. Here is a letter she wrote to Ahmadian.

Tonight the people in Iran and Iranians around the world celebrate Chaharshanbe Soori -- the celebration of spring and new life. The people have headed to the streets -- albeit as discreetly as possible. Already there are reports of arrests of people who were playing their music "too loud" in their cars. Last year the Iranian regime also beat some people to a pulp until they died.